Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
David Muller, Ershuai Jiang, Laura Campos Guzman, Paula Rivas Lazaro, Clemens Baretzky, Shankar Bogati, Birger Zimmermann, Uli Wurfel
Summary: Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) is a promising technology for powering IoT devices with artificial illumination. OPVs can achieve efficiencies as high as 30.2% under warm white LED light and show remarkable stability under indoor illumination. A study on cost-effective ITO-free cell stack with absorber materials processed from non-halogenated solvents has achieved efficiencies up to 21% with outstanding stabilities. Further efficiency increase can be expected with a wide range of potential organic semiconducting materials.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Di Wang, Guanqing Zhou, Yuhao Li, Kangrong Yan, Lingling Zhan, Haiming Zhu, Xinhui Lu, Hongzheng Chen, Chang-Zhi Li
Summary: The study demonstrates that high-performance organic solar cells (OSCs) can be obtained from hot spin processing of different non-halogenated solvents, achieving the highest reported efficiency of OSCs so far. The phase evolution of ternary blends during solution-to-solid transition is found to be correlated to the substrate temperature, and optimal blend films can be secured in various non-halogenated solvents with elevated substrate temperature. As a result, high-performance OSCs with excellent power conversion efficiencies have been achieved in o-xylene, p-xylene, and toluene, respectively, representing the best-performing OSCs made from non-halogenated solvents to date.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Kaihu Xian, Shengnan Zhang, Ye Xu, Junwei Liu, Kangkang Zhou, Zhongxiang Peng, Mingfei Li, Wenchao Zhao, Yu Chen, Zhuping Fei, Jianhui Hou, Yanhou Geng, Long Ye
Summary: By precisely controlling the acceptor aggregation, the performance and thermal stability of non-fullerene organic photovoltaics (OPVs) can be improved, resulting in higher efficiency and longer operational lifetime.
SCIENCE CHINA-CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Miao Li, Peng Liu, Lianghao Hu, Lulu Jiang, Xiaodan Tang, Zhitao Wang, Yuanyuan Zhou, Ruiping Qin
Summary: This study focuses on the crucial step of using non-halogenated solvents for the fabrication of polymer solar cells. The synthesized wide bandgap polymer PBDT-ST, along with the appropriate solvents and additives, shows promising photovoltaic performance.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yanna Sun, Lingxian Meng, Xiangjian Wan, Ziqi Guo, Xin Ke, Zhenhe Sun, Kai Zhao, Hongtao Zhang, Chenxi Li, Yongsheng Chen
Summary: The key advantage of organic photovoltaics (OPVs) is their flexibility as a highly renewable energy source. However, flexible OPV devices still lag behind rigid counterparts in power conversion efficiencies, and their mechanical stability cannot meet practical application requirements at present. By utilizing a high-quality flexible transparent electrode (FlexAgNE) combined with efficient active materials and an upper ZnO transport layer, comparable high performance with rigid counterparts has been achieved. The synergistic effect of FlexAgNE and the upper ZnO transport layer leads to robust mechanical stability of flexible devices even under extreme bending or folding conditions.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Wei Song, Qinrui Ye, Shuncheng Yang, Lin Xie, Yuanyuan Meng, Zhenyu Chen, Qun Gu, Daobin Yang, Jingyu Shi, Ziyi Ge
Summary: This study achieved a high power conversion efficiency of 18.06% and ultrahigh mechanical robustness in flexible organic solar cells by incorporating a linker dimerized acceptor. The ternary system exhibited reduced non-radiative recombination, suppressed crystallization and diffusion, and improved load distribution, surpassing binary systems in both efficiency and stability.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Kai Cheong Tam, Hirotoshi Saito, Philipp Maisch, Karen Forberich, Sarmad Feroze, Yutaka Hisaeda, Christoph J. Brabec, Hans-Joachim Egelhaaf
Summary: This research addresses the performance gap between commercially available organic photovoltaic modules and hero cells in literature by developing a printable silver nanoparticle film top electrode. The AgNP electrode achieves almost the same power conversion efficiencies as evaporated silver electrodes and performs even better under low light conditions. This work demonstrates that fully printed OPV modules can achieve similar performance as small scale OPV cells with evaporated electrodes, offering an attractive alternative for large scale manufacturing.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Grazyna Jarosz, Malgorzata Franz, Rafal Marczynski, Ryszard Signerski
Summary: The study analyzed the energy conversion limit of excitonic photovoltaic cells under white light from phosphor-based LEDs using a modified Giebink approach. It found that the optimal optical energy gap values for organic materials depend on the color of light, and that the energy loss related to exciton dissociation significantly affects power efficiency. When the energy loss is small, the power efficiency can reach 50%, but decreases to 40% as the energy loss increases. The results suggest directions for improving efficiency of organic photovoltaic solar cells for indoor applications.
ORGANIC ELECTRONICS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Applied
Zhongfeng Ji, Yong Liu, Fanglin Du
Summary: The study presents an organic/inorganic hybrid coating fabricated using a simple technique, showcasing superior superhydrophobicity, mechanical properties, and durability while maintaining transparency and hydrophobicity. The coating demonstrates excellent resistance to strong acid, UV light, water droplets, and high temperatures, making it suitable for practical applications in harsh conditions.
PROGRESS IN ORGANIC COATINGS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Eric Ziemann, Arindam Kumar Das, Paramita Manna, Revital Sharon-Gojman, Michal Sela-Adler, Charles Linder, Roni Kasher, Roy Bernstein
Summary: This study presents a facile method to fabricate crosslinked polyethersulfone membranes with remarkable stability in organic solvents. The performance of the membranes can be easily adjusted by controlling the polymer fraction. The weeklong filtration experiment highlights the excellent stability of the membranes.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Chun-Hao Chen, Zhen-Huang Su, Yan-Hui Lou, Yan-Jun Yu, Kai-Li Wang, Gen-Lin Liu, Yi-Ran Shi, Jing Chen, Jun-Jie Cao, Liang Zhang, Xing-Yu Gao, Zhao-Kui Wang
Summary: This article discusses a full-dimensional grain boundary stress release strategy for flexible perovskite indoor photovoltaics. By using borax as a 3D crosslinking agent, the mechanical and phase stabilities of the perovskite films are improved. The fabricated devices show high conversion efficiencies under indoor conditions.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Review
Optics
Jason A. Rohr, B. Edward Sartor, Jason Lipton, Andre D. Taylor
Summary: Our oceans are vast and difficult to monitor, but a fully autonomous 'Internet of Underwater Things' powered by underwater solar energy could revolutionize data collection. However, traditional silicon solar cells do not perform well underwater, so alternative materials like GaInP variants, CdTe, organic semiconductors, and perovskite semiconductors need to be explored. Challenges such as antifouling coatings and new certification standards must also be addressed.
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Mohamad Insan Nugraha, Ryanda Enggar Anugrah Ardhi, Dipti Naphade, Weimin Zhang, Youyou Yuan, Martin Heeney, Thomas D. Anthopoulos
Summary: Chlorinated solvents are commonly used but have negative environmental impacts in processing organic semiconductor devices. The choice of solvent significantly affects the microstructure and performance of the devices, making it challenging to replace chlorinated solvents. In this study, we investigate the microstructural and electron-transport properties of non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) films and transistors processed from non-chlorinated solvents, showing improved layer morphology, crystallinity, and electron mobility compared to those processed from chlorinated solvents. Our work highlights the use of non-chlorinated solvents to optimize charge transport in organic semiconductors and mitigate environmental effects.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY C
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Cong Xie, Yang Liu, Wanxia Wei, Yinhua Zhou
Summary: This study reports a strategy to improve the upscaling efficiency of flexible organic solar cells by switching electrode design to avoid the negative effects of the high surface roughness of silver nanowire electrodes. The mechanical robustness of the nanowires is enhanced by introducing a cross-linked poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) layer, and a transparent film is fabricated as the top electrode using water transfer printing.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jeannine Gruene, Giacomo Londi, Alexander J. Gillett, Basil Staehly, Sebastian Lulei, Maria Kotova, Yoann Olivier, Vladimir Dyakonov, Andreas Sperlich
Summary: The development of non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) in organic photovoltaics (OPV) has led to a significant progress in power conversion efficiencies, reaching nearly 20%. However, triplet states have been found to negatively affect device performance, leading to non-radiative losses and device degradation. A study using various spin-sensitive methods and quantum-chemical calculations identified the presence of triplet excitons in OPV blends, providing insights into the pathways for triplet formation and suggesting potential for improved charge generation to enhance OPV efficiencies.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Youwen Pan, Xiangjun Zheng, Jing Guo, Zeng Chen, Shuixing Li, Chengliang He, Shounuan Ye, Xinxin Xia, Shanlu Wang, Xinhui Lu, Haiming Zhu, Jie Min, Lijian Zuo, Minmin Shi, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: Chemical modifications were made to the famous Y-series nonfullerene acceptor BTP-4Cl-BO, resulting in the synthesis of two novel NFAs, BTP-T-2Cl and BTP-T-3Cl, with extended pi-conjugation through the fusing of IC group with a chlorinated thiophene ring. The OSC using BTP-T-2Cl exhibited a modest PCE of 14.89% with an extraordinary low energy loss of 0.49 eV, while the OSC using BTP-T-3Cl showed a higher PCE of 17.61% but with a slightly bigger energy loss of 0.51 eV. Adopting two NFAs of BTP-T-3Cl and BTP-4Cl-BO, a ternary OSC achieved an impressive PCE of 18.21%, demonstrating the effectiveness of expanding end groups of NFAs with electron-donating rings in reducing energy losses for OSCs.
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yaokai Li, Yuan Guo, Zeng Chen, Lingling Zhan, Chengliang He, Zhaozhao Bi, Nannan Yao, Shuixing Li, Guanqing Zhou, Yuanping Yi, Yang (Michael) Yang, Haiming Zhu, Wei Ma, Feng Gao, Fengling Zhang, Lijian Zuo, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: This study systematically investigates the working mechanism of ternary blend organic photovoltaics based on non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs). Molecular dynamics simulations and morphology characterization reveal that the addition of larger band gap and highly miscible NFAs improves composition-dependent band gap and charge recombination, leading to enhanced power conversion efficiency.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chengliang He, Zeng Chen, Tonghui Wang, Ziqiu Shen, Yaokai Li, Jiadong Zhou, Jianwei Yu, Huiyu Fang, Yuhao Li, Shuixing Li, Xinhui Lu, Wei Ma, Feng Gao, Zengqi Xie, Veaceslav Coropceanu, Haiming Zhu, Jean-Luc Bredas, Lijian Zuo, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: Efficient organic solar cells with high luminescence and charge collection are achieved by blending an asymmetric non-fullerene acceptor BO-5Cl with PM6 donor, resulting in a record-high electroluminescence external quantum efficiency of 0.1% and a power conversion efficiency of over 15%. Incorporating BO-5Cl as the third component in a widely-studied PM6:BO-4Cl blend further enhances the certified power conversion efficiency to 18.2%.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Lingling Zhan, Shuixing Li, Yaokai Li, Rui Sun, Jie Min, Zhaozhao Bi, Wei Ma, Zeng Chen, Guangqing Zhou, Haiming Zhu, Minmin Shi, Lijian Zuo, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: By constructing ternary organic photovoltaics, the open-circuit voltage (V-oc) loss is reduced, leading to a higher voltage without sacrificing the absorbing range. In addition, the ternary blend exhibits enhanced charge transport property and a higher fill factor.
Article
Polymer Science
Shounuan Ye, Shuaishuai Chen, Xiangjun Zheng, Shuixing Li, Youwen Pan, Yiyao Chen, Jin Fang, Changqi Ma, Dan Wang, Qisheng Zhang, Minmin Shi, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: The side chains on non-fullerene acceptors play a crucial role in regulating the molecular packing and orientation, thus affecting the photovoltaic performances of organic solar cells. In this study, two types of NFAs with different side groups were designed and synthesized, demonstrating the importance of rational choice of side groups for high-performance NFAs.
JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Shuixing Li, Lingling Zhan, Yaokai Li, Chengliang He, Lijian Zuo, Minmin Shi, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: This review presents the progress of ternary organic photovoltaic devices in terms of morphology, energy loss, and working mechanism. The addition of a third component can promote the formation of alloy-like-phase and vertical-phase, leading to an increase in voltage. It can also enhance luminescence and suppress energetic disorder, improving the photovoltaic performance. The variations in device parameters can be explained by the dilution effect and the relationships between acceptors or donor/acceptor.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Lingling Zhan, Shouchun Yin, Yaokai Li, Shuixing Li, Tianyi Chen, Rui Sun, Jie Min, Guanqing Zhou, Haiming Zhu, Yiyao Chen, Jin Fang, Chang-Qi Ma, Xinxin Xia, Xinhui Lu, Huayu Qiu, Weifei Fu, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: The study demonstrates the potential of using a quaternary strategy to improve the efficiency and practical application of organic photovoltaic (OPV) devices. By optimizing the intermixing-phase size, thick-film and large-area devices are constructed, achieving a high power conversion efficiency (PCE).
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Qing Shen, Chengliang He, Shuixing Li, Lijian Zuo, Minmin Shi, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: Non-fused-ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) are a promising strategy for high-efficiency and low-cost organic solar cells (OSCs). In this study, a tetra-thiophene-cored NFREA with outward branched alkyl chains, BO-4T, was designed and synthesized. By mapping four polymer donors with BO-4T, it was found that the energetic offset, absorption coverage, and phase separation were crucial for maximizing the voltage, photocurrent, crystallinity, and charge-transport properties of OSCs. Among the polymer donors tested, PM6 showed the best performance with BO-4T, achieving a high efficiency of 14.33%.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Tianyi Chen, Shuixing Li, Yaokai Li, Zeng Chen, Haotian Wu, Yi Lin, Yuan Gao, Mengting Wang, Guanyu Ding, Jie Min, Zaifei Ma, Haiming Zhu, Lijian Zuo, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: A mixed diluent strategy, involving high bandgap NFA (BTP-S17) and low bandgap NFA (BTP-S16), is proposed to improve the device efficiency of organic photovoltaics (OPVs). The combination of BTP-S17 and BTP-S16 enables a better compromise between charge generation and recombination, leading to a high device performance of 19.76%.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Chengliang He, Qing Shen, Baohua Wu, Yuan Gao, Shuixing Li, Jie Min, Wei Ma, Lijian Zuo, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: This work introduces a symmetry-asymmetry dual-acceptor (SADA) strategy for constructing ternary devices, which increases both the power conversion efficiency (PCE) and the operational lifetime of organic solar cells (OSCs).
ADVANCED ENERGY MATERIALS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shuixing Li, Chengliang He, Tianyi Chen, Jiale Zheng, Rui Sun, Jin Fang, Yiyao Chen, Youwen Pan, Kangrong Yan, Chang-Zhi Li, Minmin Shi, Lijian Zuo, Chang-Qi Ma, Jie Min, Yujing Liu, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: Intuitive visualization of sensitive donor-acceptor heterojunction interfaces at the nanoscale remains a challenge in organic photovoltaics (OPVs), but is crucial for carrier management. In this study, nanoscale visualization of asymmetric non-fullerene acceptor (NFA) interfaces with ideal absorption edge was achieved, revealing interesting molecular microstructural features and their correlation with charge transport and non-radiative loss. The research also discovered the negative correlation between interfacial bending energy on the ionization potential side and non-radiative loss in small driving force systems, providing another factor for energy loss manipulation. Furthermore, double-channel recombination suppression led to a record efficiency of 19.3% for asymmetric acceptor-based quaternary OPVs. This work advances interface research, enabling the discovery of intrinsic interfacial features and their correlation with carrier management at sub-nanometer resolution.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Yuying Cao, Fei Wu, Chang Xu, Haotian Wu, Shuixing Li, Xinru Wang, Tianyi Chen, Boyu Peng, Hanying Li, Hongzheng Chen, Lijian Zuo
Summary: In this study, the potential of organic semiconductors for improving the grain boundaries of perovskite films in solar cells was investigated. It was found that the use of non-fullerene acceptors filled into the grain boundaries can effectively enhance the charge transport, leading to improved device performance.
MATERIALS CHEMISTRY FRONTIERS
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Shanlu Wang, Tianyi Chen, Shuixing Li, Lei Ye, Yuang Fu, Xinhui Lu, Haiming Zhu, Lijian Zuo, Minmin Shi, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: In this study, a novel molecular design strategy of polymer donors with a D-A(1)-A(2) structure was proposed to improve the performance of thiophene-based organic photovoltaics. The aggregation states of the polymer donors could be controlled by molecular weights, leading to deep-lying energy levels. When paired with a monochlorinated non-fullerene acceptor, the increase in molecular weights of the polymer donors enhanced aggregation and reduced miscibility, manipulating the domain sizes and crystallinity in blend films. The highest efficiency of 15.0% was achieved by a medium molecular weight PQC-TM donor, demonstrating the feasibility of D-A(1)-A(2) as a molecular structure for efficient thiophene ring-based polymer donors.
JOURNAL OF MATERIALS CHEMISTRY A
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Qing Shen, Chengliang He, Shuixing Li, Lijian Zuo, Minmin Shi, Hongzheng Chen
Summary: This article comprehensively summarizes the work on non-fused ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) in terms of molecular design and efficiency optimization, material cost, and stability. By addressing the issues of conformational unicity and effective molecular packing, NFREAs can achieve higher efficiencies. In addition, the simplified synthesis routes of NFREAs greatly reduce the complexity and cost of production. Strategies for improving intrinsic material stability, photostability, and thermal stability are also discussed. NFREAs have the potential to drive the development of organic solar cells (OSCs) towards high performance, stability, and low cost.
ACCOUNTS OF MATERIALS RESEARCH
(2022)
